Civil Engineering and Architecture 10(7): 2943-2952, 2022 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2022.100713
Unit Weight, Strengths and Thermal Conductivity of
Cellular Lightweight Fly Ash Geopolymer Mortar
Reinforced with Polyvinyl Alcohol
Sermsak Tiyasangthong
1
, Piyathida Yoosuk
1
, Kitsada Krosoongnern
1
, Bundit Krittacom
2
,
Prin Nachaisit
3
, Cherdsak Suksiripattanapong
1,*
1
Infrastructure and Rail Transportation Technologies Research Unit, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and
Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
2
Development in Technology of Porous Materials Research Laboratory (DiTo-Lab), Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
3
Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Received July 18, 2022; Revised August 12, 2022; Accepted October 11, 2022
Cite This Paper in the Following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Sermsak Tiyasangthong, Piyathida Yoosuk, Kitsada Krosoongnern, Bundit Krittacom, Prin Nachaisit, Cherdsak
Suksiripattanapong , "Unit Weight, Strengths and Thermal Conductivity of Cellular Lightweight Fly Ash Geopolymer
Mortar Reinforced with Polyvinyl Alcohol," Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 2943 - 2952, 2022.
DOI: 10.13189/cea.2022.100713.
(b): Sermsak Tiyasangthong, Piyathida Yoosuk, Kitsada Krosoongnern, Bundit Krittacom, Prin Nachaisit, Cherdsak
Suksiripattanapong (2022). Unit Weight, Strengths and Thermal Conductivity of Cellular Lightweight Fly Ash
Geopolymer Mortar Reinforced with Polyvinyl Alcohol. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 10(7), 2943 - 2952. DOI:
10.13189/cea.2022.100713.
Copyright©2022 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract Lightweight materials are the most popular
building wall construction materials because of their fast
installation, high insulation, and low cost. However, these
materials use cement as a binder. Cement production
releases carbon dioxide emissions resulting in
environmental issues. The research investigated the use of
fly ash geopolymer and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to
enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of cellular
lightweight mortar. The effects of PVA concentrations,
foam content (Fc), and curing time on properties of the
cellular lightweight fly ash geopolymer (CLFAG) mortar
reinforced with PVA specimens were evaluated. The
results revealed that the PVA concentrations and Fc had an
effect on the unit weights of the CLFAG reinforced with
PVA specimens. The lowest unit weight of the specimens
was 10.10 kN/m
3
at a PVA concentration of 20% and Fc of
2%. According to the Thailand industrial standard for C12
and C14 CLC block types, all mixed ingredients met the
unit weight and compressive strength requirements. The
correlation between unit weight and thermal conductivity
of CLFAG reinforced with PVA specimens was
represented by a linear function, which was a useful
equation for estimating the thermal conductivity of
specimens.
Keywords Cellular Lightweight Concrete, Fly Ash
Geopolymer, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Thermal Conductivity
1. Introduction
The use of lightweight materials with low thermal
conductivities in the building is continuously increasing
because they can reduce the dead load of building
structure [1,2] and energy consumption [3]. Many
researchers have carried out properties of building walls,
including cellular lightweight concrete [4], expanded
polystyrene foam aggregate (EPS) concrete [5], phase
change materials [6-9], and masonry units [10-14]. The
cellular lightweight concrete, one of the lightweight
materials, has lower unit weight and thermal conductivity
than conventional materials (red brick, cement brick, and
masonry unit) [15]. Borbon-Almada et al. [15]